Arrangement for preventing operation of an electric switch

Abstract

An arrangement for preventing operation of an electric switch includes substantially pin-shaped male formations rigid with the switch and substantially socket-shaped female formations which are mounted on spaced mounting portions of a protecting element and which engage the male formations with snap action. The protecting element for use with a wall-mounted toggle switch has a strip-shaped configuration and its central portion located intermediate the mounting portions outwardly hugs the trajectory of pivotal movement of the actuating member of the switch. Two lugs may extend from the central portion toward the switch at the opposite sides of the trajectory of movement of the actuating member. The male formations may be mounted on connecting screws which connect a cover plate of the switch to a bracket which carries a switch housing and is mounted on a switch box. The female formations may have respective circumferential grooves and resiliently radially yieldable rings in such grooves, the rings engaging slightly conical outer peripheries of the male formations to retain the female formations on the male formations.

I claim: 
     
       1. An arrangement for preventing operation of a wall-mounted electric toggle switch of the type including a switch body including a switch housing, a cover plate having an elongated rectangular slot, a pair of connecting screws connecting the cover plate to the switch housing at locations situated beyond and in alignment with the slot, and an actuating member mounted in the switch housing for pivoting along a predetermined trajectory and extending through the slot of the cover plate to the exterior of the switch, for selectively preventing access to the actuating member and thus operation of the switch, said arrangement comprising: a substantially strip-shaped protecting element having a pair of spaced-apart end mounting portions, a central portion intermediate the latter and situated outwardly of the predetermined trajectory and extending along a course substantially outwardly hugging the predetermined trajectory, and two lug portions on the central portion and extending toward the cover plate at both sides of said element and of the predetermined trajectory to prevent lateral access to the actuating member, said element portions being configured as to substantially prevent access to the actuating member when placed in a predetermined position on the switch; and   snap-action means for removably holding said protecting element in said predetermined position thereof relative to the switch, said snap-action means including two cooperating pairs of substantially pin-shaped male formations and substantially socket-shaped female formations, said male formations being rigid with the switch body and including through-extending apertures through which said connecting screws may be directed prior to their threadable engagement with said switch housing thereby to permit said male formations to be fixedly mounted on the connecting screws of the switch, said female formations being rigid with said protecting element and being mounted on the mounting portions of said protecting element, said two pairs of said formations engaging each other with snap action in said predetermined position, one of each two cooperating formations having a circumferential groove at a circumferential surface thereof facing the other formation in said predetermined position, and a resilient ring accommodated in said groove and yieldable in the radial direction to engage and disengage said other formation with snap action during movement of said pin-shaped male formation into and out of said socket-shaped female formation, each female formation having a rounded finger- or thumb-pressing surface to press the respective female formation onto and into engagement with the associated cooperating male formation, said lug portions on said protecting element extending toward the cover plate for a distance sufficient to serve as a convenient handhold for a user to grasp and disengage said female formations from said male formations.